October 3, 2009

TheDailySportsHerald.com presents our quick truths on today's top headlines in the world of sports. The truth shall set you free . . .

#7HEADLINE:Manny Ramirez Strikes Out Four Times in Dodgers' Fifth Straight LossTRUTH: Los Angeles has dropped five in a row, and still has the best record in the National League. This is partly because Manager Joe Torre has been using his pitchers conservatively, with more of an eye toward the postseason. Nevertheless, Manny's growing slump is starting to become a concern, as they cannot win a title without Manny terrorizing opposing pitching.

#6HEADLINE:Los Angeles Galaxy Defeat Chicago 1-0 on Landon Donovan's GoalTRUTH: After a mediocre start and a potential feud between stars David Beckham and Landon Donovan, LA has rebounded nicely and is on the cusp of clinching their first playoff spot in four seasons.

#5HEADLINE:Venice Beach, California, Opens New Skateboard Park With 1970's Legends Tony Alva and Jay Adams in Attendance TRUTH: The birthplace of modern skateboarding finally has a skate park worthy of its roots, as the new 16,000 square-foot facility will boast rails, ramps, and a bowl that should remind Mr. Alva of his old Z-Boys days.

#4HEADLINE:Tiger Woods Becomes First Athlete to Achieve $1 Billion in Career Earnings.TRUTH: Now that Tiger is financially secure, maybe he could start making a more proactive and outspoken effort toward generating positive social and political change. Yes, Tiger makes a difference merely by playing on a world stage. And yes, he has established charitable foundations, but those are also convenient tax write-offs. A good person for Tiger to emulate would be activist and super-entrepreneur Magic Johnson, who willingly backs various political causes without concerns as to which corporations he might offend.

#2HEADLINE:Dodger Starter Hiroki Kuroda Will Miss the First Round of the Playoffs Due to a Neck InjuryTRUTH: This is a big blow to the Dodgers, as LA was counting on Kuroda's veteran blood and guts to get them some postseason wins. Now they must rely on Chad Billingsley -- the same Billingsley who failed to step up and pitch inside on the Philadelphia Phillies' hitters last year.

#1HEADLINE:Brazil Becomes the First South American Country to Host the OlympicsTRUTH: A well-deserved and long overdue honor for Brazil, as the IOC has ignored South America for far too long. The only real surprise was that runner-up Madrid was able to beat out the strong Chicago bid so easily.

Perhaps that was due to 89-year old former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch making a bizarrely personal plea to allow his country to host another Olympics before his death. Essentially, Samaranch cast all notions of transparency and impartiality aside and chose to use his connections with the IOC to procure sympathy for his own personal interests, rather than promoting Madrid's interests as a whole.

What's even more shocking is that some in the IOC actually took up his cause and cast votes on his behalf. In other words, those voters had to first assume that this 89-year old man would be alive in 2016 to see the event in person.